The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

When we need forgiveness from others, it is easy for us to ask for it, yet when others wrong us, it is hard for us to forgive them. During these times, we must remember the sheer magnitude of God's grace, of how we've been forgiven from an entire life of sin. If God could forgive us for such an enormous debt that we can never repay, how much should we then forgive others their mistakes against us,...

The Great Commission calls believers to make disciples of all nations. Most of us feel uncomfortable with this command because we don't feel like we're good at evangelizing. But instead of trying to be perfect representatives of Christ, it's about inviting someone to experience how Christ has changed us and impacted us. Like the encounter with Jesus and the woman at the well, we are called to open...

As Christians and investigators of faith, we tend to believe that character defects and deficits would miraculously be resolved by our relationship with Christ. However, that could not be further from the truth. Emotional immaturity, ego, and pride are dismantled not by happenstance, but by the effort we exert towards modeling Christ’s character. It’s in this journey with Christ and by developing...

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There are moments when we are toxic to ourselves or to others, which often are our flaws and self-centeredness on display. Therapy is a tool to help us better understand why we resort to toxic patterns of behavior, but it cannot completely rescue us from our sinful nature. We can look only to Jesus for salvation from ourselves because even if we pity ourselves by making excuses for the ways we har...

In the "already but not yet" kingdom, God continuously makes his presence known, often by calling us into action. However, due to the brokenness of the world, we may face well-justified fears in heeding that call. After all, the Christian disciple Ananias had to quell any fears of arrest or even death in obeying God's call to visit Saul, who was infamous at the time for persecuting Christians. How...

At the times that we endeavor to make significant changes in our lives, the cacophony of our negative self-talk can frequently sabotage our efforts. We strive to make these changes happen by stubborn willpower and technical measures, yet change is elusive and we find that hope is often all too frail which leaves us in isolation and without support. How can we move away from the harassment of our n...

The paradox of the "already but not yet" kingdom of God is that through Jesus the Father has already redeemed the world, and yet we live with daily reminders that our world is still broken. Amidst continual pain and suffering, we question whether God really is present and moving in our lives. More so than simply conceptualizing the gospel, we yearn for tangible experiences of God's grace and mercy...

The question, “How are you doing?” is a disjointed phrase in light of modernity. What could be the most important question we can ask one another is often perceived as the most perfunctory in society. However, the social convention we can adopt and glean wisdom from through Jesus’ encounter with the man with leprosy is one that carries seismic implications and enormous impact. To create the space...

Today, 2000 years after the resurrection, Jesus's mission has not changed. Then, now, and always, he will pay the dearest of costs to reach out to even one lost sheep and lead them towards the kingdom of God. What has changed, however, is what the world values. In an act unbelievable at the time, Jesus, a king, out of love, sacrificed himself for slaves and sinners, paving the way from a world whe...

When we ponder the roles and responsibilities we undertake in our families as we all age, we first consider how we navigate our primary devotion to the Father and the biblical family we are adopted into. Within the tension of filial piety and our gospel representation, our ethnic and cultural frameworks are not simply done away with, but redefined by the intervention of Jesus and reshaped by the p...

Jesus' resurrection changed the course of history, but it didn't solve our day-to-day problems or transform people overnight. Much like the disciples in the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion, we still live with daily tensions, ambiguities, and doubts. But what the Resurrection really tells us, rather than the answers to all our questions, is that God is writing a narrative for the world - one...

Today, we celebrate Easter Sunday, a day of hope and victory because of Jesus' resurrection. The resurrection itself is an outrageous claim that changes everything we know about life because if it is true, then Jesus was God in flesh. The invitation to reflect on the implications of such an event isn't about gaining certainty about the claims Jesus made. For both seekers and believers alike, wheth...

Dr. Darrell Johnson, Teaching Fellow at Regent College, helps us reflect on the cross and the meaning of, "It is Finished." Tune in tonight at 7 PM for Good Friday Service.

Life is often complex and full of unexpected outcomes which causes us to anticipate the future with dread and anxiety. When we feel helpless to the disappointments of life, we often forget how to be hopeful in something good. But in an uncertain future, we can remember that God is faithful to us and has wrote our story from beginning to end. Though we may not understand God's story and our place i...

In chasing after the extraordinary, we overlook the ordinary, and we forget that it is often in the humdrum moments that God works and moves in us. When we prioritize our desires and seek control over our lives, we become too fixated on the future, or too absorbed in the past, and we make ourselves unavailable for what is in front of us in the present. God has never asked us to perform miracles in...

In the humdrum routines of daily life, we often forget, and therefore take for granted, the precious moments in which God has touched us. However, we can remember these moments, firstly by revisiting our sacred altars: the places at which we drew close to God, or at which the reality of God became real to us. Similarly, we can revisit our sacred memories of times when others walked with us as repr...

When analyzing the framework of any organization, we examine that it’s mission and culture compose foundational elements for its reason to exist. There is a purpose to be and a work to be done in the world. As for the church, the thread that fundamentally ties the community of God together is centered in Christ - a culture defined by its identity in Jesus and its reflection onto one another throug...

Because film and television often portray good-looking people living romanticized lives, it is easy for us to create unrealistic expectations, even standards of near perfection, for ourselves and for others. The season of Lent gives us a chance to expose and reexamine these standards. After all, Jesus, as the Son of God, also dealt with expectations - including a challenge by the devil to demonstr...

Too often, Lent becomes about what we fast and how well we fast. However, the true point of Lent is fasting for the sake of feasting on God's transformative power and the salvation which only He can provide. Whereas a focus on fasting leads to a preoccupation with incremental self-improvement and what is better for ourselves, a focus on feasting encourages us in our dependence on a Savior and our...

Many of us regard prayer as a solitary act, and indeed, we need to spend time alone with God as Jesus did in scripture. Because we have so many defaults, flaws, and competing commitments that are in the way in our relationship with Christ, we need the power of communal prayer, especially during the Lenten season when the temptation to resort to our coping mechanisms is highest. It may be difficult...

Many of us resort to coping mechanisms that are perpetuated by culture to counter the pressures and grief of our day-to-day lives. Whether it is the bottle or other forms of self-medication, these default modes can offer short-term relief and get us through the day. However, they often fail us and develop into chronic problems themselves. With the Lenten season upon us, we have an opportunity to d...

What we see on the pulpit is often a spirituality of stardom and ostentatious faith, but when we examine the fine line between spiritual sincerity and spiritual piety, we reveal a pervasive danger of unintended consequences. Where a vibrant faith invites approval, applause, and respect, there is an incentive for those who seek these accolades. When we pursue spirituality without the power of the s...

Collectively, we consume high volumes of information in an effort to mitigate day-to-day uncertainties. However, uncertainty is indisputable - no amount of information allows us to know exactly what will happen tomorrow. The parable of the talents addresses our daily uncertainties by pointing to one paramount certainty, that Jesus Christ will one day redeem this broken world, and He will do so reg...

The question we raise this week in our series with prayer is: what is God’s initial purpose for prayer? When we pray to our Father, we often miss the imperative aspect of community - praying in fellowship with our spouse, family, and friends. After all, prayer and community is inseparable in the biblical lens. The invitation extended to us through Christ, as brothers and sisters, is a feast at the...